How do I set up a Google Play Store integration?

You can set up a Google Play Store integration to manage your Google Play Store reviews from the Reviews Feed. To set up this integration, you’ll need a Google Play Console connection to link to your Sprout account.

Note: You’ll need to be the Google Play Console Account Owner to set up this integration.

This article includes the following sections:

• Google Play Console setup
• Sprout setup
• FAQs

Google Play Console setup

To set up your Google Play Console connection, you need to create or link an existing Project. Learn more about creating and managing Projects in the Google Cloud Console in Google’s documentation.

Create a project

If you don't already have a Project you want to use:

1. Log into your Google Cloud Console account.
2. Navigate to IAM & Admin > Create Project. Enter your details.
   

Set up your Service Account

1. Ensure you’re in the correct Project.
   
2. Navigate to APIs & Services > Enabled APIs & Services to see your enabled APIs.
   
   
3. Click Library and search for the following APIs and ensure they’re enabled:
   - Google Cloud APIs
   - Google Cloud Storage
   - Google Cloud Storage JSON API
   - Google Play Android Developer
   
4. Navigate to IAM & Admin > Service Accounts.
5. Click Create Service Account.
   
6. Enter an account name and description. Sprout recommends giving your service account a descriptive name so you know this account is associated with Sprout.
   
7. Click Grant this service account access to project. Under Select a role, select Basic and then select Browser.
   
8. Click Done.
9. Click the three-dot menu under Actions and select Manage keys.
10. Navigate to Add Key > Create new key.
    
11. Select JSON.
12. Click Create. A message will appear informing you that your private key has been saved to your computer. Click Close.
    

Invite users

1. In the Google Play Console, navigate to Users and Permissions.
   
2. Click Invite New Users.
3. Add the email address associated with your service account. You can find this information in the Service Account Details tab of Service Accounts in the Google Cloud Console.
4. Under Account permissions, select View app information and download bulk reports and Reply to reviews.
   
   
5. Click Invite user.
6. Click Send invite.

Sprout setup

Note: You may need to wait up to 24 hours before setting up the integration in Sprout. Google requires some time for these Account Permissions to take effect.

Once your Google Play Console account owner has configured your Google Play connection, you can complete the integration in Sprout. You’ll need the private key generated in step #12 in order to configure the connection in Sprout.

Note: You’ll need to have the Manage Profiles permission in Sprout to connect a profile.

To connect your Google Play Store account:

1. Log into Sprout.
2. Navigate to Account and settings > Connect a profile. You can also connect a profile by clicking + Connect a profile from Groups & Social Profiles in Settings or from the left sidebar.
3. Click Connect on Google Play Store.
4. Upload the JSON file that you downloaded.
5. Click Upload file.
   
6. Copy and paste the URL(s) of the app(s) you’d like to connect to Sprout.
   
7. Click Connect App(s).

FAQs

Can I manage Google Play Store reviews on mobile?
No, not at this time.

Is there another way to connect my Google Play Store account?
This process is our only option for integrating your Google Play Console with Sprout. We’ve shared feedback with Google and will continue to advocate for alternatives. We store private keys securely and use them exclusively for ingesting reviews and posting replies.

Can I see reviews without text (e.g. ratings only, thumbs up/down)?
No, not at this time.

Can I delete or edit replies to reviews?
No, not at this time.

Can I manage reviews for apps in beta?
No, not at this time.

How much data can Sprout backfill?
Sprout can backfill reviews up to 7 days, including edits to reviews.